As Newcastle Prepare for Chelsea Test Rafa Benítez Claims Most Blues Fans Wanted Him to Stay

?Newcastle United manager Rafael Benítez has claimed that most Chelsea fans wanted him to stay at the club, after he won the Europa League with the Blues during an interim spell in the 2012/13 season.

The veteran manager travels back to Stamford Bridge with the Magpies this weekend, as he looks to get one over on the ‘minority’ of Blues fans who doubted him.

Speaking ahead of the Premier League clash, via the Mirror, Benítez claimed that despite his controversial appointment, most Chelsea fans backed his appointment, despite his previous time spent with league rivals Liverpool.

Benítez said: “A group of fans weren’t good to me. You can always have those who were more vocal, it doesn’t mean they are the majority.

“I can tell you, a lot of fans were happy with me. At the end, I had a lot of messages telling me I did really well. A teenager in the Czech ­Republic had put on Twitter that I once said I would never manage Chelsea.

“But that is simply not true. Then this story was created. I’m telling you, the fans in the street at the end, they were saying, ‘Carry on, you’re doing a great job.’”

Benítez won the Europa Cup with Chelsea in 2013, after he took over the reigns from Champions League winning manager Roberto Di Mateo. Discussing the internal goings-on at the west London club, Benítez claimed:

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“The atmosphere in our training ground was really good. The players were working hard. The staff were brilliant, ­everyone was happy. When we finished, they all congratulated me. We won the Europa League. ­Everything was fine. The majority of fans were happy.“